Ride
Ride were one of the most important of the original shoegazing bands. They formed in 1988 in Oxford, England consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence Colbert, and Steve Queralt. They released four albums: "Nowhere", "Going Blank Again", "Carnival of Light" and "Tarantula". 1988-1993 Early Years Ride were born out of the Cheney School in Headingdon with 3 of the 4 members attending there. Andy Bell and Mark Gardener moved to Banbury to attend North Oxfordshire College & The Oxfordshire School of of Art & Design where they met Laurence Colbert. Steve Queralt was then recruited from the local record shop "Our Price" after previous musical experiences between both Queralt and Bell. The band formed in the summer of 1988, playing their first gig as Ride for the College's Christmas Party towards the end of that year. While still at Banbury, the band produced a demo tape, recorded in Queralt's bedroom and hallway, including the tracks "Chelsea Girl" and "Drive Blind". Queralt and his record shop boss and future Ride manager Dave Newton had started a live music night in Oxford called Local Support, and it was due to a cancellation by another band that Ride got their first proper gig at one of these nights. Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain heard a copy of the demo that was in the possession of Gary Crowley, and this led to interest from Mary Chain manager Alan McGee. After the band supported The Soup Dragons in 1989, McGee signed them to Creation Records. Ride released three EPs between January and September 1990, entitled Ride, Play and Fall. All three EPs made it into the UK top 75, with Play and Fall reaching the top 40. Ride's" top-75 placing was a first for Creation Records. The first two EPs were released together as ''Smile in the USA in July 1990 (and later released in the UK in 1992), while the Fall EP was incorporated into the CD version of their first album, Nowhere, released in October 1990. Gardener said of the band's influences "We liked the noisy bands of the time. When we were at art college we went to see My Bloody Valentine, The House of Love, Stone Roses and Sonic Youth. I think these all had a lot of influence on us in the early days as they were great gigs."'' "Nowhere" was a critical and commercial success, reaching #11 in the UK. It has been cited as one of the two greatest Shoegazing albums, (second to Loveless by My Bloody Valentine). Demand for new material was high, and the band recorded another EP, Today Forever, released in March 1991. The EP marked a change in direction for the group away from the noisier early style. Ride made their first international tour to Japan, Australia and France later on that year. Tickets for the performances in Japan sold out within minutes. In February 1992 the band broke into the UK top 10 with "Leave Them All Behind", and the following month saw the release of the band's second album "Going Blank Again". The strain within the band was already apparent, Bell stating "By the time the second album came out we were touring too much. We were tired. We then took time off, but it was too much time off". Section heading Write the second section of your article here. Don't forget to add a category, to help people find the article.